Reasons For The Fall Of Rome

Thesis: Although the fall of the Western Roman Empire was caused by many different factors, the three most significant factors were excessive military spending, political corruption, and barbarian invasions.

Topic: Excessive military spending left no money to spend on other public necessities.
Excessive military spending was a primary reason for the fall of Rome because this left no money for other vital activities. Defending the border of the Empire from attacks was expensive and costly for the government. Military spending left little money for other necessities, such as providing public housing and maintaining quality roads and aqueducts. Romans lost their desire to defend the Empire. This forced the empire to hire soldiers recruited from the unemployed city mobs or foreign countries. This army was not only unreliable, but very expensive. The emperors were forced to raise taxes frequently to pay for the costs, causing the poor to be poorer. The citizens were angry because they were suffering and being neglected.

This picture shows how the military in Rome is monopolizing all the use of money and taking it all for itself.

Topic: Political corruption left the government unstable.
Political corruption was a primary reason for the fall of Rome because the people were not happy with their government. Rome always had a problem with electing new

Barbarian invasions was a primary reason for the fall of Rome because the soldiers could not defend their country properly. The barbarians put a lot of pressure on the Roman military and it was simply too much for them. The invasions caused a sense of insecurity to the people of Rome. Since the soldiers were the Romans that did not trust the government and were unloyal, they did not defend properly. They cared more about their lives and thought “every man for himself” instead of “fight for your country.” With each city being seized and conquered, the barbarians made Rome weaker and weaker leading to the fall of